Rep. Dockter should explain discrepancy in his testimony

Rep. Jason Dockter told jurors Friday he believes he didn’t vote on the Attorney General’s Office budget in 2023 because he was at home with COVID-19.

Legislative records, however, conflict with the testimony Dockter gave under oath on the witness stand.

The House journal, which records actions of the Legislature, and archived video from April 2023 showed that Dockter was at the Capitol on the two days the AG’s Office budget came to the House floor for a vote. While he didn’t vote on that budget, which was Senate Bill 2003, he did vote for bills that came to the floor just minutes before and after the AG’s Office budget was approved.

The discrepancy in his testimony was not brought up during Friday’s all-day court trial, in which jurors found Dockter guilty of a misdemeanor ethics-related charge.

But that testimony is easy to fact-check on the Legislature’s website, which has a publicly available video archive and House journal entries showing attendance roll calls for each day.

Jury finds Rep. Dockter guilty of misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charge

Lawmakers have four options when a bill comes to the floor. Typically they will vote yay or nay. 

They also can declare a conflict of interest, but longtime Legislative Council Director John Bjornson testified he can’t recall a time when a lawmaker was recused from voting.

A fourth option I’ve seen some lawmakers exercise is to step away from their desk when a vote is taken to avoid going on the record about a bill. They can simply step into the hallway when a certain bill comes up, or perhaps take a strategically timed bathroom break to avoid voting or publicly declaring a conflict. 

It appears that fourth option is what Dockter did in 2023 on the two days the Attorney General’s Office budget bill came up for a vote. His vote on that bill was examined in court because the budget included rent payments to a building that he has an ownership stake in. A 12.5% ownership stake to be precise, according to testimony from Friday’s trial.

Dockter chose to take the stand in his own defense on Friday. During direct examination, defense attorney Lloyd Suhr asked Dockter why he didn’t vote on the AG budget in 2023. 

Dockter replied, “I believe I was at home. I think I got COVID. And they had a procedure … I think five days I had to quarantine.”

Suhr then followed up, asking Dockter if he typically votes on agency budget bills and why. Doctor said yes before elaborating.

“We need a functioning government. And it’s my job as a District 7 rep to vote for the citizens,” Dockter testified. “We need roads. We need social services. We need this to function as a government. So it’s my job to vote for all these bills. And unless I’ve had COVID or I’ve been sick, I take every vote. I vote on everything.”

But the House journal and video from House floor sessions conflict with his testimony.

On April 10, the first time the AG’s budget came to the House floor, Dockter was absent and not voting at 1:01 p.m. But video from the floor session shows him in his seat for other votes. In fact, he cast votes for bills right before and after the AG’s budget bill, one at 12:53 p.m. and another at 1:04 p.m., video shows. 

On April 27, when the AG’s budget came back to the House for a final vote after it was amended in conference committee, Dockter was counted as absent and not voting at 12:41 p.m. But video of the floor session shows him in attendance that day. He voted for the State Auditor’s Office budget minutes later at 12:48 p.m., video shows.

Meanwhile, other testimony from the trial offers a different explanation for why Dockter didn’t vote on those budget bills.

Ethics Commissioner Rebecca Binstock testified she cautioned Dockter through his attorney against voting on the AG’s budget in the 2023 session. Dockter had voted for that budget in 2021, but that was before cost overruns with the building project were disclosed and the building became the subject of inquiries by the state auditor and the Ethics Commission.

Binstock testified she was not aware at the time that the Department of Health budget also had a link to Dockter. The Department of Health also rents space in the same building. Dockter voted for that department’s budget bill in both 2021 and 2023.

Binstock declined to comment after the trial. She’s not allowed to discuss ethics complaints under rules governing the Ethics Commission, and she was only able to testify due to a court subpoena.

Suhr said in an interview Monday that Dockter was testifying to the best of his recollection, and he recalled having COVID-19 around the time of the April 27 vote.

“He did not perjure himself,” Suhr told the North Dakota Monitor. “I am confident that he got up there and testified absolutely truthfully with respect to what he recalled.”

Legislative records show Dockter missed two days of the 2023 session – Monday, Feb. 13, and Tuesday, Feb. 14, and was back at the Capitol on Feb. 15. 

Reasonable people will disagree with the verdict and the criminal charge. Some will say the votes weren’t consequential because the budget bills would have passed either way. Others will say Dockter is a minority owner of the building and his actions weren’t different from how other citizen legislators have handled similar situations.

But it’s hard to understand why a lawmaker, particularly one who holds leadership positions, would not be truthful on the witness stand. 

Was he confused when he gave that answer? If Dockter didn’t want to answer questions about his votes, he didn’t have to testify. Dockter did appear nervous when he took the witness stand, but his attorney was polished and well prepared. The testimony came under direct examination, which surely Dockter and his attorney had rehearsed. As an experienced lawmaker, Dockter would know how to research his voting record if he needed to refresh his memory when preparing for trial. 

Dockter owes the public a better explanation.

This was updated with comments from attorney Lloyd Suhr and information about Rep. Dockter’s legislative absences in the 2023 session.